Exhaust whistle



,966 v. FRESOLONE, SR 3,276,420

EXHAUST WHISTLE Filed Sept. 21, 1964 2 Sheets-$heet l VITO FRESOLONE SR.

BY T

Oct. 4, 1966 v. FRESOLONE, SR- 3,276,420

EXHAUST WH I STLE Filed Sept. 21, 1964 2 Sheets$heet 2 FIG. 6 L VITO FRESOLONE SR.

2o INVENTOR- United States Patent 3,276,420 EXHAUST WHISTLE Vito Fresolone, Sr., 1213 Magnolia Place, Union, NJ. Filed Sept. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 397,685 7 Claims. (Cl. 116138) This invention relates generally to tone chambers or whistles used as signalling devices and more particularly to whistles operated by exhaust gases from internal combustion engines, diesel and gas turbine engines, and similar pressure gas mixtures.

Whistles or signal devices operated by the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines for exhaust steam from steam operated tugboats and other vehicles are known.

These devices suffer from a major defect in that they create uncontrolled back pressure particularly, for example, in the exhaust manifold of internal combustion engines of fire engine vehicles which use such signalling devices, to the extent that the operative efficiency of the engine is affected.

Furthermore, these known devices did not include any means for varying the extent of the particular gas pressure mixture used for operating the whistle or for varying the pitch of the whistle.

In addition, the known exhaust whistles, for example, those operated off exhaust gases from internal combustion engines, had no means for permitting the whistles to be removed for cleaning or to permit the tone chambers thereon to be changed.

The present invention overcomes these and other problems by providing an exhaust whistle wherein a common collecting chamber of relatively large size coacts with an associated means for adjusting the pressure therein and with individual supply chambers for each of the whistle tones or whistle units on the exhaust whistle which supply means or chamber in turn has means for adjusting the pitch at which the whistle will operate.

It is also a further function of the present invention to provide an exhaust whistle wherein each of the whistle means or tone chambers are adapted to be fixedly mounted or removably mounted from the assembled position.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an exhaust whistle which minimizes the effect of back pressure acting in the manifold feeding the exhaust gases, exhaust steam, or other pressure gases for operating the whistle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an exhaust whistle having means for adjusting the pressure at which the pressure gas is supplied from the main manifold.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an exhaust whistle having means for adjusting the pressure at which a gas is supplied to each of the individual whistles means thereon.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of several embodiments of the invention and the novel features will be particularly pointed out hereinafter in the claims.

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation showing a preferred form of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the form of the invention shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a partial perspective of the invention shown in FIGURE 1, showing one whistle means or tone chamber; partly in vertical section and partly broken away to show the invention.

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the port sizing means.

FIGURE 6 is a front means of the port sizing means.

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FIGURE 7 is a side elevation of the port sizing means.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section taken on line 8-8 of FIGURE 3 showing the pitch adjusting element for the supply chamber for one of the whistle means.

FIGURE 9 is a vertical section taken on line 9-9 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 10 is a modified form of the invention of FIGURE 1 wherein the whistle means or the tone chamber is removable.

Referring to the drawings, FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 4 show one form of the exhaust whistle as including a centrally located housing generally designated 10, having a partition 11 transversely disposed to divide the housing into a main flow passage 12 and a common expansion chamber 13.

The main flow passage has an inlet conduit 14 and an outlet conduit 15 which permits the exhaust whistle to be connected, for example, in the exhaust manifold (not shown) of an internal combustion engine, the inlet side of the whistle being connected to the upstream or engine side of the exhaust manifold and the outlet conduit 15 being connected to the downstream or discharge side of the exhaust manifold.

The partition 11 has an opening 16 formed therein in which a removable port sizing means 17 is mounted as by the threaded member 18.

The port sizing means 17 is a flat annular member having a centrally disposed opening 19 and a downwardly or vertically projecting portion 20 on the outer periphery. A threaded bore 21 in the projecting portion 20 receives threaded member 18 when the port sizing means 17 is held in the assembled position in the opening 16 as clearly shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 of the drawings.

As indicated in FIGURE 4, the threaded means 18 can be reached by removing the plug 22 in the central housing 10 and using a suitable device such as an Allen wrench or screw driver, as may be required.

The port sizing means takes its name from the fact that the opening or port 19 can be cut to any particular size desired and the present invention can be sold or provided with various port sizing members having various size openings therein so that the member can be inserted and removed to provide different operating characteristics for any given basic whistle construction, as described herein.

When the exhaust whistle is not in operation, it will be in the normally open position, i.e., the pressure gases or exhaust gases will pass from the source through the manifold or pipe feeding the main flow passage 12 and such passage will be unimpeded or unobstructed entering from the upstream side of the manifold in which the exhaust whistle is connected, thence to the inlet conduit 14 to the main flow passage 12 and on through to the outlet con duit 15 to the discharge or downstream side of the manifold.

The flow, however, can be diverted from the main flow passage 12 through the opening or port 19 in the port sizing means 17 to the common expansion. chamber 13 to operate the respective tone chambers or whistle means generally designated 23 and 24.

This is accomplished by means of a baflie plate 25 mounted on and movable with shaft 26 rotatably carried in any suitable bearing means 27 at the upper portion of the main flow passage 11 so that the baffle plate 25 lies inside the main flow passage and can rotate from a position parallel to the gas flow path through the main flow passage 11 which corresponds to the unobstructed or normally open position to a position transverse to the gas fl'ow path which is the position in which the tone chambers or whistle means 23 and 24 will be operated.

The shaft 26 for operating the baffle plate 25 extends to the outside of the main housing 10 where a lever arm 28 is fixedly connected thereto and when moved will rotate the shaft 26 and the baffie plate 25 connected to and rotatable with the shaft from the normally open position to either a partial or full transverse position as is indicated by the full lines and the dotted lines at FIGURES 2 and 4 of the drawings.

The lever arm 28 is held by a spring 2 9 to normally position the baffie plate to the open position where unobstructed flow of the pressure gas mixtures will occur.

Any siutable means, for example, the pull cord illustrated in FIGURE 2 of the drawings, can be used to actuate lever arm 28 to move the batlie 25 to a partial or full transverse position in operating the exhaust whistle as indicated by the solid and dotted lines in FIGURES 2 and 4 of the drawings.

The common expansion chamber 13 may have any desired form and will have a volume which will be proportioned as a function of the size of the opening or port 19 in the port sizing means 17.

The size of the opening or port 19 in the port sizing means 17 will in turn be a function of the extent of the back pressure which the manifold from which the pressure gas mixture is delivered can reasonably tolerate without affecting the efficiency, for example that of the internal combustion engine, delivering exhaust gases.

The eifect, however, of this construction will be to form a pressure dome to which a pulsating stream of pressure gas is delivered but from which a constant stream of pressure gas can be supplied.

In the present invention, the constant stream of pressure gas will be supplied to the respective pressure gas supply chambers indicated at 31 and 32 for the respective tone chambers or whistle means 23 and 24.

In the preferred forms of the invention as shown in the drawings only two-tone chambers or whistle means are illustrated with their corresponding gas supply chambers. It will be understood, however, that more than two whistle means or tone chambers can be utilized without departing from the scope of the present invention and that the only limit in tone chambers or whistle means is the extent to which the housing forming the common expansion chamber can accommodate these units both from a mechanical area standpoint and a functional standpoint.

In the form of the invention as shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawings the pressure gas supply chamber is formed integrally with the tone chamber or whistle means 23 and 24. As will be understood by those skilled in the art the supply chamber for each respective whistle means can be separated therefrom and then in assembly the portions can be brought into juxtaposition with each other.

Furthermore, as is also shown in FIGURES 3, 4, 8 and 9, each pressure gas supply chamber is provided with a pitch adjusting means as at 33 which is a flat annular member having a sized port or opening 34 formed therein which sized port or opening 34 coacts with the relative volume of the supply chamber to that of the common expansion chamber 12 so as to modulate the pressure in the supply chamber and thus regulate the pitch and tonal quality or effect of the tone chamber or whistle means 23 and 24.

Although the pitch adjusting means 33 is illustrated as a fixed member for the supply chamber on which it is utilized, it is belived clear that it could be made removable and replaceable with openings of any desired size to produce the operative efi'ect desired.

The tone chamber or whistle means 23 and 24 are shown as differing from each other only to the extent that one member is slightly longer than the other. The purpose of the difference in sizing is to vary the pitch of each of the respective whistles.

The whislte means as shown in FIGURES 1 to 9 includes cup-shaped members 35 and 36, for the respective whistle means 23 and 24.

'The cup-shaped members 35 and 36 are provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings 37 which may be oval or circular and extend through the sides of the cup-shaped members a short distance from their open or mouth ends as is clearly shown in FIGURE 3.

As is shown at FIGURE 8, a transverse partition 38 is connected as by spotwelding at 39 to the inner wall of the respective cup-shaped members 35 and 36 at mid-point osition with respect to the openings 37 so that they divide the cup-shaped members 35 and 36 into the pressure respective gas supply chamber 31 and 32 on the side adjacent the open or mouth end and sound chambers 41 and 42 on the side of the transverse partition 38 remote from the open or mouth end of the cup-shaped member.

Annular band members as at 43 and 44 are connected adjacent the open or mouth end of the respective c-upshaped members 35 and 36 on the exterior portion there of so that it extends down to cover a substantial portion of the circular openings 37 and form with the transverse partitions 38 whistle passages as at 44, on each of the respective tone chambers or whistle means 23 and 24. The cup-shaped members 35 and 36 are connected and formed integrally with the annular band means 43 and 44 and the entire assemblyis connected as by welding at 45 and 46 about the open or mouth end of the respective cu-pshaped members to the assembled position as shown in FIGURE 3 so that the pressure gas supply chambers 31 and 32 of the respective whistle members 23 and 24 will be in continuous communication with the common supply chamber 12 and will receive pressure gas from the common supply chamber whenever the same is delivered theret0.

A rod means 47 having threaded members 48 on the ends extends through the ends of the respective whistle members and transversely through the entire assembly to hold the whistle members in tight relationship to the central housing 10 and to overcome any problems that might develop from vibration during operation of the whistle.

It will also be noted that the pitch adjusting means 33 for the pressure gas supply chamber is illustrated in FIG- URE 3 as being a fixed member for the particular pressure gas supply chamber 31 while the pressure gas supply chamber 32 is illustrated as not having any pitch adjusting member therefor. It is believed clear that no pitch adjusting means is necessary but that it can be utilized if the control of the pitch of any particular means is desired. Further, however, while the pitch adjusting means is shown as a fixed member, it is clear that it could be made removable in a manner similar to that shown for the port sizing means 17 or it could be held in assembled relationship by any suitable means so as to permit it to be removed and replaced by another pitch adjusting means with a different size opening or eliminated completely as may be desire-d.

Operation In operation, when the pull cord 30 is actuated to move the lever arm 28 from the position indicated'in FIGURE 2 by the solid lines to any of the positions indicated by the dotted'lines in FIGURE 2 more or less of the pressure gas passing through the main flow passage will be diverted through the port sizing means 117 into the common expansion chamber 13.

Since the pressure gas supply chambers 31 and 32 are in continuous communication with the common supply chamber 13 the pressure gas delivered to the common expansion chamber 12 will expand into or flow or pass into the supply chambers-31 and 32 and thence pass via the whistle passages 49 across the openings 37 provided in the respective whistle means 23 and 24.

Since the openings are associated 'with the respective sound chambers 41 and 42 the whistle means will be actuated to resonate the tone consistent with the size of the respective sound chamber.

If the pressure of the exhaust gas or other pressure fluid being utilized is at all times greater than is needed, the opening or. port 19 in the port sizing means 17 will coact with and maintain the common expansion chamber 1?: at a cont-rolled predetermined pressure and the pressure gas supply chambers 31 and 32 will operate as a result of this to provide .a constant pitch tone from the respective whistle means Q3 and 24.

If it is desired to increase or decrease the pressure or the pitch, the port sizing means .17 and the pitch adjusting means 33 can be changed so as to regulate the opening therein as has been above described.

It will be noted by those skilled in the art that the unit as above described is of substantially integral form. Without departing from the scope of the present invention it is believed obvious that the parts for ease of manufacture can be detachably connected to each other, for example, the housing could have the main flow passage 12 and common expansion chamber 13 as separate assemblies which are detachably joined, or the whistles can be removably mounted as is shown in FIGURE 10.

Such detachable construction aids in cleaning and the replacement of parts.

Modified form of the invention FIGURE shows only a fragment in vertical section, of one whistle means to illustrate a modified form of the construction in that the whistle means can be made removably mounted instead of fixedly mounted as shown in FIGURES 1-9 of the drawings.

For this purpose an annular shoulder 50 is established adjacent the ends of the central housing =10 to which the whistle means will be held in abutment as by the rod 47 and threaded means 48.

If a force fit is provided no gasketing means will be necessary although it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such expedient is common where a gas type joint is desired.

While single tone whistle means are illustrated, it is known in this art that two-tone and three-tone whistles can be made by using suitable longitudinal and transverse baifie plates (not shown) in the sound chambers. Since, however, this does not form part of the present invention, this type of whistle means has not been illustrated.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangement of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A signal device to be connected in a pressure gas manifold comprising:

(a) a main housing having an inlet and an outlet to permit connection into the pressure gas manifold so as not to impede the normal flow of pressure gases through the manifold,

(b) a partition in said main housing dividing the housing into a main flow passage and a common expansion chamber,

(c) said partition having an opening formed therein to permit gas to flow from the main flow passage to the common expansion chamber,

(d) bafile means in said housing pivotally disposed whereby on movement it will direct at least a portion of the pressure gas through the opening in the partition to the common expansion chamber,

(e) said opening sized relative the volumetric capacity of said common expansion chamber,

(f) and at least one whistle means communicating with said common expansion chamber to receive pressure gases at all times when said pressure gases are directed into the common expansion chamber,

g) and a supply chamber for each whistle means disposed for operative association between said common expansion chamber and said whistle means to regulate the back pressure on the pressure gases received from the pressure gas manifold.

2. A signal device to be connected in a pressure gas manifold comprising:

(a) a main housing having an inlet and an outlet to permit connection into the pressure gas manifold so asnot to impede the normal show of pressure gasses.

through the manifold,

(b) .a partition in said main housing dividing the housing into a main flow passage and a common expansion chamber,

(c) said partition having a sized opening formed therein to permit gas to flow from the main flow passage to the common expansion chamber,

(d) baffle means operatively associated with said sized opening and to control the flow of pressure gas from the main flow passage to said common expansion chamber,

(e) at least one whistle means connected to said hous- (f) a supply chamber for each whistle means disposed in operative association between said common expansion chamber and said whistle means to regulate the back pressure on the pressure gas in the pressure gas manifold,

(g) a pitch sizing orifice for at least one of said supply chambers sized relative the volumetric capacity of its associated supply chamber to regulate the pitch of the associated whistle operatively related to the sized orifice supply chamber.

3. A signal device to be connected in a pressure gas manifold comprising:

(a) a housing,

(b) a partition having an opening therethrough disposed to divide the housing into a main flow passage and a common expansion chamber,

(c) the housing having an inlet to receive pressure gas from the upstream side of the pressure gas manifold and .an outlet to discharge pressure gas to the downstream side of the pressure gas manifold,

(d) said main flow passage communicating with the inlet and outlet,

(e) bafile means in the housing normally disposed to permit pressure gas to pass through the main flow passage and pivotal to direct the flow of pressure gas through the opening in the partition to the common expansion chamber,

(f) means removably disposed in the opening in said partition to regulate the size of said opening,

(g) said opening sized relative the volumetric capacity of said common expansion chamber,

(h) at least one whistle means connected to said hous- (i) a supply chamber for each of said whistle means disposed in operative association between said common expansion chamber and said whistle means,

(j) and a pitch sizing orifice for at least one of said supply chambers sized relative the volumetric capacity of its associate supply chamber.

4. In a signal device as claimed in claim 3 having means thereon to detachably connect at least one of said whistle means to the housing.

5. In a signal device as claimed in claim 4 wherein said detachable mounting means includes:

(a) a shoulder about the point on said housing adapted to receive the detachably connected whistle means,

(b) and means to hold the pressure gas receiving end of the detachably connected whistle means in tight abutment with said shoulder.

6. A signal device to be connected in a pressure gas manifold comprising:

(a) a main housing having an inlet and. an outlet to permit connection into the pressure gas manifold so as not to impede the normal cflow of pressure gases through the manifold,

(b) a partition in said main housing dividing the housing into .a main flow passage and-a common expansion chamber,

(c) said partition having an. opening formed therein to permit gas to flow from the main flow passage to the common expansion chamber,

(d) bafiie means in said housing pivotally disposed whereby on movement the baflie means will direct at least a portion of the pressure gas from the main flow passage through the opening in the partition to the common expansion chamber,

(e) 'a port sizing means in the opening in said partition to size the opening in said partition relative the volumetric capacity of said common expansion chamber and to regultae the back pressure acting in the pressure gas manifold to which the main housing is connected,

(f) at least one whistle means connected to said hous- (g) and a supply chamber for each whistle means disposed in operative association between said common expansion chamber and said whistle means to receive pressure gas from said common expansion chamber and deliver the same for operation of the associated whistle means.

7. A signal device to be connected in a pressure gas manifold comprising:

(a) a main housing having an inlet and an outlet to permit connection into the pressure gas manifold so as not to impede the normal flow of pressure gases through the manifold,

(b) a partition in said main housing dividing the housing into a main flow passage and a common expansion chamber,

(c) said partition having an opening formed therein to permit gas to flow from the main flow passage to the common expansion chamber,

(d) baffie means in said housing pivotally disposed whereby on movement of the baflie means it will direct at least a portion of the pressure gas through the opening in the partition to the common expansion chamber,

(e) at least one whistle means connected to said hous (f) and a supply chamber for each whistle means disposed in operative association between said common expansion chamber and said whistle means,

(g) and a pitch sizing orifice mounted in said housing between the common expansion chamber and at least one supply chamber to regulate the pitch of the whistle means associated with said supply chamber, control the flow of pressure gas from the main flow passage and to adjust the pressure of the pressure gas in the supply chamber.

1,024,683 4/1912 Gray 116-138 30 LOUIS J. CAPOZI, Primary Examiner.

3/1907 Stump 1l6138 

1. A SIGNAL DEVICE TO BE CONNECTED IN A PRESSURE GAS MANIFOLD COMPRISING: (A) A MAIN HOUSING HAVING AN INLET AND AN OUTLET TO PERMIT CONNECTION INTO THE PRESSURE GAS MANIFOLD SO AS NOT TO IMPEDE THE NORMAL FLOW OF PRESSURE GASES THROUGH THE MANIFOLD, (B) A PARTITION IN SAID MAIN HOUSING DIVIDING THE HOUSING INTO A MAIN FLOW PASSAGE AND A COMMON EXPANSION CHAMBER, (C) SAID PARTITION HAVING AN OPENING FORMED THEREIN TO PERMIT GAS TO FLOW FROM THE MAIN FLOW PASSAGE TO THE COMMON EXPANSION CHAMBER, (D) BAFFLE MEANS IN SAID HOUSING PIVOTALLY DISPOSED WHEREBY ON MOVEMENT IT WILL DIRECT AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE PRESSURE GAS THROUGH THE OPENING IN THE PARTITION TO THE COMMON EXPANSION CHAMBER, (E) SAID OPENING SIZED RELATIVE THE VOLUMETRIC CAPACITY OF SAID COMMON EXPANSION CHAMBER, (F) AND AT LEAST ONE WHISTLE MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID COMMON EXPANSION CHAMBER TO RECEIVE PRESSURE GASES AT ALL TIMES WHEN SAID PRESSURE GASES ARE DIRECTED INTO THE COMMON EXPANSION CHAMBER, (G) AND A SUPPLY CHAMBER FOR EACH WHISTLE MEANS DISPOSED FOR OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SAID COMMON EXPANSION CHAMBER AND SAID WHISTLE MEANS TO REGULATE THE BACK PRESSURE ON THE PRESSURE GASES RECEIVED FROM THE PRESSURE GAS MANIFOLD. 